Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell have once again been involved in accidents during the second race of the season. The rookie contender for the 2024 NASCAR Cup season has had a challenging start, with multiple incidents in previous races. This trend continued during the race at Dover on Sunday. Wallace’s No:71 Chevy Camaro ZL1 caused the DNF (Did Not Finish) for 23XI Racing, JGR, and HMS.
During lap 329 of the race, Zane Smith’s Chevy made contact with Wallace’s No:23 Toyota Camry as Wallace overtook him on the outside lane. This caused Wallace to hit the wall and lose control of his car, skidding down to the bottom lane. As a result, he made contact with Christopher Bell and William Byron, causing significant damage to all three cars. They were taken to the infield care center for medical evaluation, with Wallace being the first to be released, followed by Bell and Byron.
The past two weeks have been particularly challenging for Wallace and Bell. They were involved in a major wreck and had DNFs at Talladega last week. Bell’s disappointment is compounded by the fact that this is his third DNF of the season in just 11 races. Byron, his biggest rival for the 2024 championship, had a successful day, securing his third win and equaling Bell’s win tally.
Fans on X had mixed reactions to the incident. Some were quick to criticize or mock the Spire Motorsports driver, who was loaned from Trackhouse and has had a difficult season with multiple incidents. Others sympathized with Bell and Wallace, acknowledging their bad luck. As usual, there were also fans who took the opportunity to criticize Wallace, despite him being a victim in this incident.
Zane Smith’s rookie season has been challenging, and he needs to improve if he wants to maintain his Trackhouse contract. His fellow developmental drivers, Shane van Gisbergen and Conor Zilitch, have been performing well in their respective championships and are now ahead of him in the pecking order.
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